Molecular, forensic and haplotypic inconsistencies regarding the identity of the Ekaterinburg remains.

BACKGROUND: A set of human remains unearthed near Ekaterinburg, Russia has been attributed to the Romanov Imperial Family of Russia and their physician and servants. That conclusion was officially accepted by the Russian government following publication of DNA tests that were widely publicized. The published study included no discussion of major forensic discrepancies and the information regarding the burial site and remains included irregularities. Furthermore, its conclusion of Romanov identity was based on molecular behaviour that indicates contamination rather than endogenous DNA. The published claim to have amplified by PCR a 1223 bp region of degraded DNA in a single segment for nine individuals and then to have obtained sequence of PCR products derived from that segment without cloning indicates that the Ekaterinburg samples were contaminated with non-degraded, high molecular weight, 'fresh' DNA. AIM: Noting major violations of standard forensic practices, factual inconsistencies, and molecular behaviours that invalidate the claimed identity, we attempted to replicate the findings of the original DNA study. SUBJECT: We analysed mtDNA extracted from a sample of the relic of Grand Duchess Elisabeth, sister of Empress Alexandra. RESULTS: Among clones of multiple PCR targets and products, we observed no complete mtDNA haplotype matching that reported for Alexandra. The consensus haplotype of Elisabeth differs from that reported for Alexandra at four sites. CONCLUSION: Considering molecular and forensic inconsistencies, the identity of the Ekaterinburg remains has not been established. Our mtDNA haplotype results for Elisabeth provide yet another line of conflicting evidence regarding the identity of the Ekaterinburg remains.

Multilocus genotypes, a tree of individuals, and human evolutionary history.

Our goal is to infer, from human genetic data, general patterns as well as details of human evolutionary history. Here we present the results of an analysis of genetic data at the level of the individual. A tree relating 144 individuals from 12 human groups of Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, inferred from an average of 75 DNA polymorphisms/individual, is remarkable in that most individuals cluster with other members of their regional group. In order to interpret this tree, we consider the factors that influence the tree pattern, including the number of genetic loci examined, the length of population isolation, the sampling process, and the extent of gene flow among groups. Understanding the impact of these factors enables us to infer details of human evolutionary history that might otherwise remain undetected. Our analyses indicate that some recent ancestor(s) of each of a few of the individuals tested may have immigrated. In general, the populations within regional groups appear to have been isolated from one another for <25,000 years. Regional groups may have been isolated for somewhat longer.

Detecting immigration by using multilocus genotypes.

Immigration is an important force shaping the social structure, evolution, and genetics of populations. A statistical method is presented that uses multilocus genotypes to identify individuals who are immigrants, or have recent immigrant ancestry. The method is appropriate for use with allozymes, microsatellites, or restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) and assumes linkage equilibrium among loci. Potential applications include studies of dispersal among natural populations of animals and plants, human evolutionary studies, and typing zoo animals of unknown origin (for use in captive breeding programs). The method is illustrated by analyzing RFLP genotypes in samples of humans from Australian, Japanese, New Guinean, and Senegalese populations. The test has power to detect immigrant ancestors, for these data, up to two generations in the past even though the overall differentiation of allele frequencies among populations is low.

Seventy-five nuclear DNA polymorphisms in an Italian sample: a comparative worldwide study.

A well defined Italian sample from Trino Vercellese (Northern Italy) is analysed for 75 nuclear DNA RFLPs. It represents the only European sample [Matullo et al 1994] which is unmixed in a comparative study of eight populations from four continents [Bowcock et al 1991a; Lin et al 1994]. Genetic substructure of this sample has been investigated by allele sharing distances and no bias or higher homogeneity is shown. Genetic variability between populations was measured by the FST statistics (average FST was 0.138 +/- 0.086). Average heterozygosity for eight populations was 0.312 +/- 0.069. Genetic distances were evaluated between pairs of populations. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed and principal component analysis performed. Particular attention has been given to the genetic relationship between our sample and the mixed-Caucasoid sample: 14 out of 75 markers show statistically significant frequency differences (P < 0.05), 5 of which are significant at a probability level < 1%: GH/Bg1II (Lower system), D7S1/HindIII, D17S71/MspI, EPB3/PstI, HLA-DQA. Hypotheses on admixed origin of Europeans has been discussed.

Demographic history of India and mtDNA-sequence diversity.

The demographic history of India was examined by comparing mtDNA sequences obtained from members of three culturally divergent Indian subpopulations (endogamous caste groups). While an inferred tree revealed some clustering according to caste affiliation, there was no clear separation into three genetically distinct groups along caste lines. Comparison of pairwise nucleotide difference distributions, however, did indicate a difference in growth patterns between two of the castes. The Brahmin population appears to have undergone either a rapid expansion or steady growth. The low-ranking Mukri caste, however, may have either maintained a roughly constant population size or undergone multiple bottlenecks during that period. Comparison of the Indian sequences to those obtained from other populations, using a tree, revealed that the Indian sequences, along with all other non-African samples, form a starlike cluster. This cluster may represent a major expansion, possibly originating in southern Asia, taking place at some point after modern humans initially left Africa.

Nuclear DNA polymorphism in a Mandenka population from Senegal: comparison with eight other human populations.

A large and ethnically well defined Mandenka sample from Senegal is analysed for 80 nuclear DNA RFLPs, and compared with eight previously studied human populations. A high level of genetic diversity is found in this sample, comparable to that observed in two African Pygmy samples, but lower than that of a European sample. High population variation is observed for most markers. A neutrality test reveals that the markers used in this study can be considered as neutral. A high correlation is found between genetic and geographic distances (r = 0.62), suggesting that geography does also affect long range population genetic relationships and is an important factor behind differentiation among human populations.

Comparison of 79 DNA polymorphisms tested in Australians, Japanese and Papua New Guineans with those of five other human populations.

Seventy-nine DNA polymorphisms from 57 loci (28 genes and 29 anonymous DNA segments) have been typed in eight human populations. Here we present allele frequencies for three populations (Japanese, New Guineans, and Australians) as well as revised frequencies for a Chinese sample: allele frequencies for five additional populations (Biaka and Mbuti Pygmies, Melanesians, Chinese, and Europeans) were described previously [Bowcock et al 1991a]. Evaluation of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for these polymorphisms suggested that the New Guinean sample may be from a highly substructured population. Average FST value for the 79 markers (polymorphisms) was 0.147 +/- 0.011 across the eight populations: Fst values for some markers changed dramatically with the addition of three populations--in particular, Australians and New Guineans. Average heterozygosity for eight populations was 0.307 +/- 0.014. Genetic distances indicated that the Australian sample may have some European ancestry. An average linkage tree inferred from these distances suggested that the first split of modern humans was between Africans and non-Africans, while the second major split was between Australians/New Guineans and all other non-Africans. The neighbor-joining tree also separated the African populations from all others. European polymorphism ascertainment bias and European admixture appear to have influenced both estimation of population heterozygosity and tree inference.

Inference of human evolution through cladistic analysis of nuclear DNA restriction polymorphisms.

Testing of nuclear DNA polymorphisms in human populations has been extended to closely related primates. For many polymorphisms, one allele is shared by two or more species: such shared alleles are likely to be ancestral and provide insight not only into the relationships among the primates but also into the evolutionary history of modern humans. Humans from among eight worldwide populations share an allele with chimpanzees for 62 out of 79 polymorphisms examined. Frequencies of these ancestral alleles strengthen the conclusion that the earliest major separation of modern humans was between Africans and non-Africans. The average time since mutation of the ancestral alleles producing the current set of polymorphisms is estimated to be 700,000 years. While differences among ancestral allele frequencies in human populations suggest that natural selection may have played a role in the evolution of a subset of these polymorphisms, simulations indicate that a European bias in the ascertainment of polymorphisms may be at least partially responsible for observed differences. Simulations also suggest that observed heterozygosity levels in African populations, for classical polymorphisms and restriction fragment length polymorphisms, are artificially low due to the same bias. Observed patterns of mean heterozygosity and mean ancestral allele frequency provide support for the hypothesis that Europeans and northeast Asians are closely related. This work suggests that polymorphisms should be selected by testing a random sample of extant humans.

RFLP analysis on a sample from northern Italy.

We analysed a sample of 55 unrelated individuals from Trino Vercellese, a village in northern Italy. It represents the only European sample which is unmixed in a comparative study of eight populations from four continents [Bowcock et al 1991a; Lin et al 1994]. RFLP analysis was performed on 32 DNA markers, for a total of 37 independent alleles. Genetic variability between populations was measured by the FST statistics (average FST is 0.138). Average heterozygosity was calculated for each marker and for each population. Genetic distances were evaluated between pairs of populations. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed and principal component analysis performed.

Subclustering of human immunoglobulin kappa light chain variable region genes.

The human immunoglobulin kappa light chain (IgK) locus includes multiple variable region gene segments (Vk) that can be divided into four subgroups. Oligonucleotide primers were designed to amplify specifically gene segments of the VkI, VkII, and VkIII subgroups using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Product sequences were subcloned, sequenced, and compared. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences within each subgroup indicate that some subgroups can be subdivided further into "sub-subgroups." The history of Vk segment duplications apparently includes at least two separate periods, the first giving rise to the subgroups and the second generating further complexity within each subgroup. Duplications of large pieces of DNA (demonstrated by others through pulsed-field gel electrophoresis) also played a role. Rates of synonymous and non-synonymous base changes between pairs of sequences suggest that natural selection has played a major role in the evolution of the Vk variable gene segments, leading to sequence conservation in some regions and to increased diversity in others.

Evolution of modern humans: evidence from nuclear DNA polymorphisms.

Previously we have described studies of the evolution of modern humans based upon data for classical genetic markers and for nuclear DNA polymorphisms. Such polymorphisms provide a different point of view regarding human evolution than do mitochondrial DNA sequences. Here we compare revised dates for major migrations of anatomically modern humans, estimated from archaeological data, with separations suggested by a genetic tree constructed from classical marker allele frequencies. Analyses of DNA polymorphisms have now been extended and compared with those of classical markers; genetic trees continue to support the hypothesis of an initial African and non-African divergence for modern humans. We have also begun testing non-human primates for a set of human DNA polymorphisms. For most polymorphisms tested so far, humans share a single allele with other primates; such shared alleles are likely to be ancestral. Populations living in humid tropical environments have significantly higher frequencies of ancestral alleles than do other populations, supporting the hypothesis that natural selection acts to maintain high frequencies of particular alleles in some environments.

Coevolution of genes and languages revisited.

In an earlier paper it was shown that linguistic families of languages spoken by a set of 38 populations associate rather strongly with an evolutionary tree of the same populations derived from genetic data. While the correlation was clearly high, there was no evaluation of statistical significance; no such test was available at the time. This gap has now been filled by adapting to this aim a procedure based on the consistency index, and the level of significance is found to be much stronger than 10(-3). Possible reasons for coevolution of strictly genetic characters and the strictly cultural linguistic system are discussed briefly. Results of this global analysis are compared with those obtained in independent local analysis.

Study of an additional 58 DNA markers in five human populations from four continents.

One hundred DNA polymorphisms from 73 loci (42 genes and 31 anonymous DNA segments) were investigated in five populations (Biaka and Mbuti Pygmies, Melanesians, Chinese and Caucasoids). Data for 47 polymorphisms, including 42 of those discussed here, were described previously [Bowcock et al 1987]. Here we report statistical quantities of genetic importance for each gene and population. The average FST for the 100 markers is 0.137 and the average heterozygosity is 0.325. When known genes and anonymous segments are compared there is no significant difference in the average FST values or in the average heterozygosities.

Drift, admixture, and selection in human evolution: a study with DNA polymorphisms.

Accuracy of evolutionary analysis of populations within a species requires the testing of a large number of genetic polymorphisms belonging to many loci. We report here a reconstruction of human differentiation based on 100 DNA polymorphisms tested in five populations from four continents. The results agree with earlier conclusions based on other classes of genetic markers but reveal that Europeans do not fit a simple model of independently evolving populations with equal evolutionary rates. Evolutionary models involving early admixture are compatible with the data. Taking one such model into account, we examined through simulation whether random genetic drift alone might explain the variation among gene frequencies across populations and genes. A measure of variation among populations was calculated for each polymorphism, and its distribution for the 100 polymorphisms was compared with that expected for a drift-only hypothesis. At least two-thirds of the polymorphisms appear to be selectively neutral, but there are significant deviations at the two ends of the observed distribution of the measure of variation: a slight excess of polymorphisms with low variation and a greater excess with high variation. This indicates that a few DNA polymorphisms are affected by natural selection, rarely heterotic, and more often disruptive, while most are selectively neutral.